Ship
Pequod
Also called Pequod's.
4 chapters in narrative order
- Chapter 20 All Astir
The Pequod is readied for departure while Ahab remains unseen.
Close reading “great activity aboard the Pequod”The Pequod is a workplace before it is a symbol. Loading, preparing, and managing the ship make Ahab's later quest depend on ordinary labor.
- Chapter 21 Going Aboard
Ishmael and Queequeg board the Pequod before dawn, with Elijah's warnings still hanging over them.
- Chapter 22 Merry Christmas
The Pequod leaves Nantucket on Christmas Day under hard weather and harder command.
- Chapter 115 The Pequod Meets the Bachelor
The grim Pequod meets the cheerful, full-of-oil Bachelor, and Ahab rejects its easy confidence.
Close reading “Bachelor”The Bachelor is cheerful, successful, and homeward-bound. That contrast makes the Pequod's course look chosen rather than inevitable.